Body transportation to Spain

Traveling around the world in the 21st century has ceased to be a luxury. Every year hundreds of millions of people decide to go on a trip abroad: according to statistics of the United World Tourism Organization, in 2019 there were 1.5 billion international tourist trips in the world, which is almost 60 million more than in 2018 and 300 million than in 2015. With the increase in the mobility of the world population, death abroad has turned into a common event that a modern person often has to face.

In international legal practice, the process of transporting the body or remains of the deceased to their homeland is called posthumous repatriation (from the Latin repatriate - return to the homeland), while in Russian the term “cargo 200” is commonly used behind it. To repatriate a body means the necessity to be well versed in the intricacies and nuances of both foreign legislation and the internal rules of the country of residence of the deceased. This also implies quite a lot of paperwork as well as preparation of the body for transportation.

A Spanish citizen died in Russia - what to do?

1. Notify the insurance company whose client was the deceased

The main legal acts governing the rules for the entry of foreigners into Russia are Federal Laws No. 114-F3 "On the Procedure for Exiting the Russian Federation and Entry into the Russian Federation" dated 15.08.1996, as well as Act No. 115-B3 "On the Legal Status of Foreign Citizens in the Russian Federation. dated 25.07.2002. According to these documents, in order to enter the country, all foreign citizens, including citizens of Spain, are required to issue an insurance policy, without which stay in the country will be considered illegal. This document will protect travelers or their family members from unforeseen expenses abroad, which may arise due to illness or accident.

As a rule, the basic insurance include the treatment of illnesses and injuries that have arisen during the trip, emergency medical care, the cost of purchasing the necessary medicines, as well as the return of remains to homeland. Therefore, first of all, the family of the deceased must call the telephone number indicated in the policy. In this case, it is necessary to pay attention to the circumstances of death, which are covered by the insurance contract. In case if:

• Death occurred as a result of alcohol or drug intoxication;
• The insured person died during the commission of a criminal offense;
• The cause of death was an injury sustained while engaging in active or extreme sports (if this was not agreed with the insurance company and paid for separately).

The insurance company will most likely refuse to pay the sum insured to the client.

2. Contact the Spanish Consulate

The next important step is to call the Spanish Consulate in Russia. Consular officers will advise on all issues related to the repatriation of the deceased, assist in the preparation of the necessary documents, as well as provide a list of competent funeral services with relevant experience in organizing the transportation of the body or remains of the deceased. If the death of a foreign citizen became the subject of investigation of the Russian law enforcement agencies, the consulate, can advise qualified lawyers to the family of the deceased. 

Without the participation of the consulate, it is not only impossible to organize the transportation of the body, but also to obtain up-to-date information on all stages of this process.

There are consular offices of the Embassy of the Kingdom of Spain in Moscow and St. Petersburg. More information about the consular network in Russia can be found on the official website of the embassy http://www.exteriores.gob.es/.

3. Choose a funeral company for the transportation of remains to Spain

To organize the posthumous repatriation independently is a complex process that might take many weeks. Therefore, the Spanish Embassy recommends that you seek help from an established local funeral company. Experienced specialists will help with the preparation of all the necessary documents and spare relatives the trouble of bureaucratic red tape.

Required documents

To transport the body of a citizen of the Kingdom of Spain to his homeland, his relatives will need to register the fact of death in the consular register of civil status, as well as obtain permission there to import the body into Spain. Besides the list of required documents includes a death certificate, a certificate of sealing a zinc coffin, non-insertion of substances, and the absence of infectious diseases. All documents must be translated into Spanish, certified by a notary, and confirmed with an apostille.

Transportation of a deceased from Russia to Spain

There are three main types of transport for returning the remains of deceased Spanish citizens to their homeland: car, railroad, and plane. Air transportation is the fastest and safest, but the most expensive way in this case. Transportation by rail will take longer but will be cheaper. The car is poorly suited for long-distance body delivery and will require more paperwork and time to cross borders.

Note! In accordance with international aviation rules and Russian legislation, the rules for delivering the body home and the tariffs are set by the air carrier and therefore may differ depending on the specific airline. Regardless of the type of transport chosen, you must make sure that the coffin or urn with the ashes meets all international requirements for body transportation, namely:

• The body must be in a zinc container or coffin with a zinc liner, which is also packed in a wooden transport box.
• When transporting ashes, the urn should be transparent to X-rays.
• The container with the body or the ashes must be sealed and have no unauthorized contents.

Useful Links

Gosuslugi (Public Services)

Russian Federation Public Services Portal. Here you can find how to get various documents required to arrange remains transportation.

Website: https://www.gosuslugi.ru

Rospotrebnadzor

Address: Vadkovsky Pereulok 18, building 5 and 7, Moscow, 127994

Phone: +7 (499) 973-26-90

Website: http://www.rospotrebnadzor.ru

Embassy of the Kingdom of Spain in Russia

Address: Moscow, Bolshaya Nikitskaya street, 50/8

Phone: +7 (495) 234-22-97/ 22-98

Website: http://www.exteriores.gob.es/

General Consulate of Spain in St. Petersburg

Address: St. Petersburg, Furshtatskaya street, 9

Phone: +7 (812) 644-65-70

Telephone (for emergency assistance): +7 (921) 551-30-86

Email: cog.sanpetersburgo@maec.es

Website: http://www.exteriores.gob.es/Consulados/SanPetersburgo

Embassy of Spain - "On assistance to Spanish citizens in posthumous repatriation"

Website: http://www.exteriores.gob.es/

Ritual.ru – assistance in post-mortem repatriation to Spain

Many years of experience, knowledge, resources, and status of the state funeral service allow Ritual.ru to organize posthumous repatriation to Spain in the shortest possible time in compliance with all international rules. To arrange transportation of a deceased Spanish citizen, call Ritual.ru on the hotline +7 (495) 100-3-100 . Our specialists work around the clock.

See Also

• How to repatriate a deceased person from Russia to Belarus
• Repatriation Of a Body To Armenia – How to transport a body to Armenia from Russia by air
• Posthumous body repatriation from Russia to Serbia